Texas: DFW Airport cancels Islamic foot-washing stations gollowing Gov. Abbott's intervention
After alleging that Dallas-Fort Worth Airport intended to give preferential treatment to a single religion by providing Islamic ablution stations, the governor of Texas forced a reversal, which the airport confirmed on Friday.
Greg Abbott in Pharr, Texas / Sergio Flores
Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) announced that it will not proceed with plans to install Islamic ablution stations in Terminal D. The decision came after Texas Governor Greg Abbott ordered a review of state subsidies to the state's two major airports and referred the case to the Department of Transportation.
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Abbott: "Texas will not allow illegal religious discrimination"
On Friday, Abbott wrote on X that government-owned airports "cannot favor one religion over all others." He noted that DFW's plans to install Islamic "wudu" washing facilities are "illegal" and announced that he had ordered a review of all state grants to DFW and the George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston (IAH) for possible revocation.
"Texas will not allow illegal religious discrimination at taxpayer-funded facilities," the governor stated.
According to Fox News, in a letter addressed to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, Abbott called on the Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration to review the religious facilities at both airports. "These ablution facilities appear designed to single out one subset of the population for special treatment based on religion. That is illegal," he wrote.
DFW cancels project
The airport confirmed to Fox News Digital that it was evaluating an internal proposal to add ablution stations in the pre-security area of Terminal D, its international terminal. In light of increased public interest, it expedited that review and decided not to proceed.
The project had been filed on July 31 with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. It was initially estimated at $300,000 and presented as privately funded, although DFW later clarified that these were administrative errors on the part of the design firm and that the actual cost would have been around $120,000, funded by the airport itself.
Houston already has a similar facility
DFW emphasized that it does not use taxpayer money for its operations, but rather its own revenue from parking and concessions. Similar low-level stations and interfaith spaces exist at other major U.S. airports, such as Chicago's O'Hare.
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